aCorridor Headlines

1. Mid-Atlantic Manufacturing completes expansion
   Company invests $6 million expansion at Rural Retreat plant.
2. United Salt Corp.to open Saltville facility
   Company announces $8.5 million investment.
3. Bristol Virginia introduces new recruiting campaign
   Bristol launches AccessBristol, promoting broadband.
4. Updates on aCorridor events
   Wellborn Cabinet has open house at Smyth County facility. Gatorade receives LEED certification. Washington County holds ribbon cutting for The Highlands. Carroll County offers home-based employment opportunities.
5. From My Perspective...
   An update from Executive Director Tom Elliott.
6. around the aCorridor...
   Progress Park getting sewer extension. Citizens extends fiber to Wythe County industrial parks. Smyth hospital undergoing renovations. New wilderness areas in aCorridor region.

Mid-Atlantic Manufacturing expands Rural Retreat plant

Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Patrick Gottschalk, right, presents a Virginia flag to Mark Carter, Vice President of Business Development, left, and Tom DeWitt, President and CEO of Swanson Industries, parent company of Mid-Atlantic Manufacturing and Hydraulics.

Mid-Atlantic Manufacturing & Hydraulics, Inc., recently completed a $6 million expansion at its facility in the Rural Retreat Industrial Park. The company, a division of Swanson Industries, headquartered in Morgantown, W.Va, provides fluid power components manufacturing and remanufacturing services for products such as hydraulic cylinders and pumps and offers the specialized capability of friction welding for these and other applications. The facility and operations expansion, announced in November 2006, is expected to create 50 new jobs.

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United Salt Corp. announces first Virginia facility in Smyth County

United Salt Corp. broke ground Aug. 15 on a salt products manufacturing facility located in the Town of Saltville. The company announced its $8.5 million investment will create 18 jobs and will revamp the salt evaporation and processing operation previously owned by Spectra Energy. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, United Salt is a privately owned manufacturer of salt products used primarily in food products, chemical processing, oil field drilling, de-icing, hide curing, argicultural feeding, commerical, industrial and residential water softening, and in the company's new product line used for chlorine generation in swimming pools. "The acquired facility will enable United Salt to better serve food, industrial and agricultural markets in the eastern and southeastern United States," said James F. O'Donnell, president of United Salt Corporation.

Bristol Virginia launches new business recruiting campaign

The Bristol Virginia Office of Economic Development has officially launched AccessBristol, a major business recruiting campaign that touts the city's position as one of the country's most experienced broadband service providers in one of the nation's most picturesque locations.

City-owned Bristol Virginia Utilities (BVU) is recognized as the first municipal electric company in the U.S. to launch a fiber-to-the-user (FTTU) network offering the "triple play" of telephone, cable and broadband data services, including Internet. OptiNet, the broadband division of BVU, features an 800-mile, fiber-optic cable network that blankets most of Bristol and Abingdon. With the help of grant money, it also loops Bristol up I-81 to Wytheville, Va., to the West Virginia state line and back to Bristol through Buchanan, Tazewell, Russell and Washington counties.

The recruiting campaign includes a new AccessBristol logo, brochure, business case studies and a website, www.accessbristolva.com.

Updates on aCorridor events

Wellborn Cabinet, Inc. held an open house for the community and employees Sept. 20 in its Atkins facility, formerly the Virginia House furniture plant. A family owned and operated cabinet manufacturing company, established in 1961 in Ashland, Ala., Wellborn purchased the Smyth County facility to machine dimension parts for company facilities in Alabama, Pennsylvania and Utah. The company says that Virginia has abundant supplies of maple and other hardwood species that are not readily found or indigenous to the Alabama and Salt Lake City operations.

The Blue Ridge Gatorade facility located in Progress Park in Wytheville is now the largest food and beverage plant certified at the LEED gold level by the US Green Building Council. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program recognizes companies that meet certain audited criteria for energy efficiency and reduced environmental impact in their facilities. One of Wythe County's largest manufacturing employers, Gatorade, located in the park since 2006, incorporates features such as minimizing water and energy usage in production. When the plant was under construction, Gatorade allowed about half of its site to remain a greenfield.

Washington County held an official ribbn cutting and grand opening in October for The Highlands, the 350,000 square foot retail shopping center on Lee Highway near I-81 Exit 7. The Highlands features national retailers, including Target, Old Navy, T.J. Maxx. Bed Bath & Beyond and Books-a-Million. A Best Buy is under construction nearby and is expected to open in February, and clothing stores Maurice's and Dress Barn are scheduled to open in March.

Home-based virtual call centers are being promoted as a new employment opportunity in Carroll County. Arise Virtual Solutions and Carroll County are teaming up to promote telephone marketing as a home-based opportunity. Carroll County Administrator Gary Larrowe said prospective employees need a computer and broadband, to pass a criminal background check and to type 35 words per minute. Arise coordinates home-based customer service contractors to answer calls for Apple, Disney, Home Depot and others. "The very interesting point is that this opportunity is available today in Carroll/Grayson and the City of Galax where high speed Internet is available," said Larrowe. For more information about home-based jobs in the Twin Counties, visit www.arise.com.

From my perspective...

Tom Elliott                        Executive Director

2007 Year to Date Report Card

•  7 Expansions, 219 jobs, $44.30 Million capital investment.

•  5 New Industries, 565 jobs, $21.09 Million capital investment.

Total: 12 Announcements, 784 Jobs, $65.39 Million capital investment.

With this report, we have now surpassed our job creation for 2006! While it seems that our announcements have slowed a little, let me assure you that our prospect activity has not. Thanks to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, as well as several locally generated projects, our prospect activity is at its highest level in years.

Some of the projects are a long shot, but we will put 110% into all of them. Although most of them will extend into next year, I feel confident that we're going to get some wins. Let me say once again that it's a true pleasure to work with the economic development professionals in each of our localities.

In closing, we were saddened to hear that Ralph Tuggle is resigning from our board to be with his wife as she battles a serious illness. Ralph has served as a dedicated member of our Executive Committee and as Vice Chairman of the board for many years. Ralph, you will be missed, and you and Nancy will be in our thoughts and prayers in the days ahead.

around the aCorridor...

The Virginia Tobacco Commission has awarded a $150,000 grant for the construction of a sewer line in Progress Park. The line will extend sewer service to the park's southern portion by connecting to the interceptor that serves sewer lines to the northern part of Progress Park.

Also in Progress Park...Citizens, a Floyd-based telecommunications cooperative, recently deployed fiber to Progress Park, Fairview Industrial Park and other areas in Wythe County.This increases the telecommunications infrastructure serving the industrial parks and provides choice of vendors to industries. (Embarq also provides broadband services to Progress Park and Fairview Industrial Park.)

Congratulations to Bland County Administrator Jonathan Sweet and wife Natalie on the birth of their son, Silas! They welcomed Silas into the world Sept. 4, 2007.

Smyth County Community Hospital is undergoing $2.3 million in renovations. The planned changes, designed to make it more convenient for patients, are a temporary fix while permanent plans are created, according to Smyth County Hospital CEO Lindy White. "These are interim renovations that will enhance our facility and will serve us over a period of time during which major facility plans, requiring months of planning, will be developed."

The Virginia Ridge and Valley Act of 2007 passed by the U.S. House on Oct. 23 would protect scenic wilderness areas in parts of the aCorridor region. Authored by Congressman Rick Boucher, the legislation would add six existing wilderness areas in Bland, Craig, Grayson, Giles, Lee, Montgomery and Smyth counties within the Jefferson National Forest. Boucher said the legislation would designate nearly 54,000 acres of the Jefferson National Forest as wilderness or national scenic areas, protecting their pristine quality, while enhancing the tourism economy of the region.

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